Bad Dreams

by Kim Newman

Anne Nielson, an American journalist, comes to London to investigate the strange death of her sister. Soon, she becomes sucked into a netherworld of corruption and perversion and is hurtled toward a final confrontation where she has only the dead as allies. From the author of Anno-Dracula. Carroll & Graf.

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Vampires

280 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Note: This author also writes under the pseudonym of Jack Yeovil.
An expert on horror and sci-fi cinema (his books of film criticism include Nightmare Movies and Millennium Movies), Kim Newman's novels draw promiscuously on the tropes of horror, sci-fi and fantasy. He is complexly and irreverently referential; the Dracula sequence--Anno Dracula, The Bloody Red Baron and Dracula,Cha Cha Cha--not only portrays an alternate world in which the Count conquers Victorian Britain for a while, is the mastermind behind Germany's air aces in World War One and survives into a jetset 1950s of paparazzi and La Dolce Vita, but does so with endless throwaway references that range from Kipling to James Bond, from Edgar Allen Poe to Patricia Highsmith.
In horror novels such as Bad Dreams and Jago, reality turns out to be endlessly subverted by the powerfully malign. His pseudonymous novels, as Jack Yeovil, play elegant games with genre cliche--perhaps the best of these is the sword-and-sorcery novel Drachenfels which takes the prescribed formulae of the games company to whose bible it was written and make them over entirely into a Kim Newman novel.
Life's Lottery, his most mainstream novel, consists of multiple choice fragments which enable readers to choose the hero's fate and take him into horror, crime and sf storylines or into mundane reality.

Reviews

[heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping and vivid details. This book sucker punched me emotionally and then psychologically fucked with me.

[Shaitarn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars.

This book was two stories in one: the title story Bad Dreams and Bloody Students (previously released as Orgy of the Blood Parasites).

The first story is about an American journalist in London investigating the death of her sister and being drawn into a battle against an ancient vampire-like creature, although it seems to live off people's brains, their thoughts, memories and dreams rather than blood.

The second is a story about a group of animal rights activists on a university campus who raid a laboratory and released some infected rabbits, who swiftly infect their rescuers, turning them into crazed mutants.

Out of the two I think I preferred the first story. The idea of a vampire-like creature that could rifle though people's minds and use what it found against them, as well as the instances when the heroine was fighting in one of the dream landscapes the villain created, against its creatures, appealed to me.

The second story was apparently first written as a movie script and it does read rather like a book version of one of the more gory horror films of the 80s; it reminded me of films like 28 Days Later or The Thing. It wasn't bad as such, but a lot of the scenes were very visual and I thought would've worked better as a film.

These stories were okay, just nothing special in my mind, and certain not anything I'd be in any great hurry to re-read. They were just a bit 'meh' to be honest.

So entertaining enough, but not outstanding in any way. Buy if you like slightly surreal gory horror. If (like me) you prefer your horror to have more of a flavour of the supernatural, then you may prefer to stick to Newman's Anno Dracula.

[Tommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains the full-length novel "Bad Dreams," and also the novella/short story "Bloody Students." Both were originally written in 1990, and the author says in his afterword that they're both really products of the 1980s. Newman is probably best known for his "Anno Dracula" series, and although I read that a long time ago and enjoyed it, I can't remember which of the books in that series I've read. So it's nice that this is a stand-alone. "Bad Dreams" is about an American journalist who goes to London to investigate the death of her drug-whore sister. It's gritty and lurid and lots of fun. Wicked sense of humor throughout. It turns out the journalist's sister fell prey to an old dream-sucking vampire that gluts itself on the subconscious. And blood. There are some great Nightmare On Elm Street-type sequences, where nightmares blend into other nightmares and you aren't quite sure if the protagonist is really awake or not. It's labyrinthine in a good way. The lurid sex, drugs, & rock & roll type atmosphere reminded me of all the things I loved about horror in the late '80s. I think I liked the short story "Bloody Students" even better than "Bad Dreams," though. "Bloody Students" is totally over the top, a viral contagion story that reminded me of the Thing, and 48 Days Later. Also a little bit of "Black Sheep," that horror movie with the rabid monster sheep. Except this story has rabid monster rabbits. Heads get pounded through floors, limbs get chain-sawed off, and there are tons of hideous mutations. It all takes place on an English university campus, beginning with an animal-rights protest. Good fun.

[Fredrik · Rating 3 out of 5]

So here's the thing: I really didn't enjoy "Bad Dreams" very much, but by that I mean the story "Bad Dreams". It was messy and not at all up to Newman's usual standard.
But! In a complete surprise, this book is actually comprised of two stories, and the second one, "Bloody Students" was MUCH better, I'd go so far as to say classic Newman, in that it's a great mash-up of the zombie virus-type genre, The Blob, the Thing, and Resident Evil, all set in a British Uni.

So... A one or two-star story coupled with a four or five-star story... Tricky. I'd say it's worth it just for "Bloody Students" in the end, but I can't give the whole package more than three stars.

[Mark R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

**1/2

This is the first book I've read from Kim Newman, whose most famous work, "Anno Dracula," remains on my to-read list. I like Newman's writing style. Great descriptions, settings, and realistic dialogue. And while I'm not sure what happens in the last third of "Bad Dreams," the author's storytelling skills are admirable.

A capital-M Monster haunts the lives and minds of British residents. He feeds off of humans like a vampire might, but he shrugs off this comparison. In the fifties, this evil creature took on the guise of a lawyer fighting alongside Joseph McCarthy in the infamous Hollywood Communist blacklist. He set his sights on one man, a playwright and screenwriter who is the object of a competitor's desire. The Monster has made it his mission to destroy this man and his family, wiping out any descendants.

Interesting, right? I've never read a story that mixed centuries-old bloodsuckers with the House Unamerican Activities Committee. But man, things head in directions you'd never expect at around page 180. Not that there's anything wrong with that--but, I have to admit, the book lost me when one dream sequence piled on top of others. There's a clear line where the excitement ends and the confusion begins. This may work for some readers, but for myself, once most of the action was occurring in hazy dream states and within the characters' minds, I had a hard time keeping up interest.

[Marie-France · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into this book. I read it with a book club which is basically the only reason I pushed myself to finish it, otherwise I think I would have stopped reading about a 1/3 of the way in.

The writing itself was fine, but the story was a bit strange. And I've read strange that I found interesting and entertaining. This was strange in a more... boring way? I don't know how to describe it. It just didn't grip me.

[Wayne79 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange book indeed. I quite enjoyed it but however the first 2 thirds of the story was sitting on a 4 star rating but the last third dropped it down for me a bit. I found it to be a little confusing jumping between the different dream worlds and characters. Didn’t seem to flow smoothly with the rest of the book in my opinion. Overall a good read.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd had this on my self for the better part of two decades and I'd sort of convinced myself that I'd already read it, but I hadn't. I have now. It's a wild, furious horror novel. I thought it was great.

[Lover of Fantasy Novels]

Starts strong and then the final showdown falls flat as one of the most anticlimactic finales I have ever read, even the fiery inferno did little to make the scene more interesting. The book ends on a bland note leaving me turning into Prince Zuko demanding where's the rest of it.

[Robert Rojo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book until I got about half way through. The characters became very shallow and the story felt very rushed and jumbled. The end was extremely quick and felt very rushed and predictable. Not one of the best out of Kim

[Rin Watson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning of this was great, it really hooks you and drags you into the world and then... it just got way too convoluted and far-fetched and ruined the effect. And the constant jumps between timelines were way too abrupt and almost unnecessary. I found them more confusing than helpful.

[Brett]

Horror

[Rajit · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book deserved four stars but I found the second to be too fantastical.

[Dean Anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

With millions of people being killed in the Soviet gulags and the Cultural revolution just around the bend, we have creatures who seek out evil and fear flock to Hollywood for the Blacklist? Really?

[Spinwallah · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good. there are times when you get the feeling he is just seeing how far he can go. i will never eat a carrot again

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

not the best book ever, the plot was good but tended to wander a bit.

[The Book Loving Monkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sick, sleazy, very violent, compelling reading!

[Velvetink]

*note to self. Copy from A.

[Tasula]

started but stopped reading after a few chapters